Lots of people have some sort of a no bake, peanut butter chocolate cookies in their recipe index. But no one has Grandma Byrd Cookies. I think most families have that one recipe that is so special & sacred, they are sure their family was the one to come up with it. That’s exactly how I felt about Grandma Byrd cookies when I was a kid.
When I was a kid, I was always so shocked (and slightly offended- ha!) when other people told me they made these cookies too. How could they when Grandma Byrd created the recipe??? I was convinced these belonged to only us & we held some divine secret of the universe in having Grandma Byrd cookies. Regardless of where the recipe came from, these are so yummy, so full of peanut butter, chocolate goodness, fast to make, and you probably have the ingredients in your pantry.
When I would eat them at my grandparents’ house, my grandfather would always tell us we weren’t allowed to eat them while they were hot, otherwise your teeth would fall out. His mother said that to him, he said that to us, and now I say it to my kids. Is it true??
Well, I can attest my favorite way to eat them is to sneak some while I’m scooping them hot onto the wax paper. But, as a kid I never could quite get a handle on if it was a joke or not & I’m not sure I ever saw him eat them hot even though we always did. The risk of eating them hot on the spoon & potentially losing my teeth has always felt worth it to me. 😉
One recent Thanksgiving, we had someone who had never had them before so we stopped everything we were doing, gathered the ingredients, and made them right away. They are that important! I think I made almost 60 cookies that day & trust me, they didn’t last long with our crew.
Here’s the trick to these, you can over or under boil them. If you over boil them, you will have cookies that crumble & won’t form a cookie. If you under boil them, they won’t take shape at all & they will be a runny, gooey mess. In my many years of, let’s be honest, screwing them up, I eventually discovered a good trick to get the perfect cookie.
When you combine the sugar, cocoa powder, butter & milk in the pan, turn the heat on high. Stir it constantly on high and as soon as you see the first bubble for a boil reduce the heat to medium. Set a timer immediately for 2 minutes & keep stirring. Remove the pan from the heat once that timer is off & finish the rest of the steps.
I hope you enjoy these & create as many warm, fuzzy memories as we have as a family. Drop me a comment below when you end up making them!
Grandma Byrd Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups oats (I prefer quick oats, but if you want a extra crunch you can use old fashioned oats.)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup creamy Peanut Butter (I use Peter Pan but any will do.)
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine cocoa, sugar milk & butter in a pan on the stove top. Turn it on to high heat & bring it to a boil. Constantly stir to prevent burning.
- Once you see the first bubbles of the boil, reduce your heat to medium, & set a time for 2 minutes constantly stirring.
- Remove from heat, add peanut butter & stir until it dissolves.
- Add vanilla.
- Add oats a cup at time & stirring in between.
- Drop onto waxed paper a spoonful at a time.
- Let cool or your teeth will fall out!
Emily says
The most delicious no bake cookies I’ve ever tasted!!!
Kate Pantier says
I love how much you love them!!! ❤️